The King and M August 13, 2010

Another “How they are related” snippet: Dr Miriam Stoppard is Oona King’s aunt: OONA King, the former “Blair babe”, has a secret weapon up her sleeve in her bid to become Labour’s next London mayoral candidate — the unswerving support of celebrity agony auntie Miriam Stoppard (Miriam’s sister is Oona’s mother). This is London (London [...]

How do we solve a problem like Korea? December 5, 2009

The Sun headline, 10 October 2006 (North Korea nuclear test) Background: the first BBC reality / talent show designed to find a star for Andrew Lloyd Webber’s revival of the Sound of Music was called What are we going to about Maria? and was won by Connie Fisher, who subsequently played the role on stage [...]

Anna Maria Mazzini December 5, 2009

The real name of Mina, the iconic 1960′s Italian pop diva, is Anna Maria Mazzini. DNews, 11.08 See also: You’re beaoutiful (sic) Real names (continued)

Senegambia November 27, 2009

‘Senegambia was a loose confederation between the small West African country of Senegal and its smaller neighbor The Gambia (which is surrounded by Senegal, except for an outlet to the sea), which existed from February 1, 1982 to September 30, 1989 following an agreement between the two countries signed on December 12, 1981. The federation [...]

Equatoguinean November 27, 2009

Equatoguinean means from Equatorial Guinea. ‘Equatoguinean officials insist that the trial will be free, fair and transparent.’ The Times, 17 June 2008, ‘The old Etonian, the dogs of war and the trial over a failed ‘coup’. Simon Mann, the ex-SAS officer and mercenary convicted and jailed in Equatorial Guinea for plotting to overthrow its government in 2004 was recently [...]

Belli Capelli November 27, 2009

The name of a chain of hairdressers in Milan, which means “Beautiful Hair”. (It could be rendered ”Fair Hair”, although the word fair when applied to hair means light or blond(e).) Capelli in Italian literally means ‘hairs’, which is logical since you don’t usually have one hair on your head (unless you are Charlie Brown). Also, [...]

Radio London Underground November 27, 2009

‘Please do not use the Victoria Line – it’s in a complete mess, and Murphy’s law states categorically the bit you need will be closed.’ London Underground Central Line train driver, 14 November 2006 Tube train driver and station controller announcements in London can be considered as a form of broadcasting (or narrowcasting). This is one [...]

Coarse poetry November 27, 2007

I am always struck by the concision of FMCG (Fast-Moving Consumer Goods) advertising slogans: ‘Chocolate chips that stay off your hips’ (Special K low-calorie cereal bar campaign, June 2005) A whole universe of temptation and guilt, desire and anxiety, self-doubt and reassurance is compressed into this single phrase. It’s a kind of epic struggle played out inside [...]